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Overview
Embark on a melodic journey through the evolution of electronic
dance music as we delve into the dynamic soundscapes of two iconic
artists: Avicii and Kygo. In this captivating exploration, we dissect
the metamorphosis of musical style over the years, meticulously
analyzing the sonic innovations and creative ingenuity that have defined
the discographies of these electronic titans.
Why Avicii and
Kygo, you may wonder? Beyond their chart-topping hits and global
acclaim, these virtuosos hold a special place in the heart of the
researcher. Year after year, their captivating compositions have
dominated the coveted slots of the Spotify Wrapped Top 5 Artists, a
testament not only to their immense popularity but also to the profound
connection forged between their music and the listener’s soul.
Prepare to be entranced as we unravel the intricacies of Avicii’s
groundbreaking melodies, tracing the evolution from his euphoric anthems
to the poignant depths of his later works. Contrast this with the
tropical-infused beats and sun-kissed vibes that hallmark Kygo’s
signature sound, a testament to his ability to transport listeners to
exotic locales through the power of music.
Through meticulous
analysis and keen observation, we aim to unravel the mysteries behind
the ever-changing tapestry of sound, exploring how Avicii and Kygo have
sculpted and redefined the landscape of electronic music. Join us on
this exhilarating expedition, where passion meets precision, and every
beat resonates with the pulse of innovation.
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The story of Avicii
Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally
as Avicii, was a Swedish musician, DJ, remixer, and record producer.
At 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music
forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose to prominence in
2011 with his single “Levels”. His debut studio album, True (2013),
blended electronic music with elements of multiple genres and received
generally positive reviews. It peaked in the top ten in more than
fifteen countries and topped international dance charts; the lead
single, “Wake Me Up”, topped most music markets in Europe and reached
number four in the United States.
In 2015, Bergling released
his second studio album, Stories, and in 2017 he released an EP, Avīci
(01).[8] His catalogue also included the singles “I Could Be the One”
with Nicky Romero, “You Make Me”, “X You”, “Hey Brother”, “Addicted to
You”, “The Days”, “The Nights”, “Waiting for Love”, “Without You” and
“Lonely Together”. Bergling was nominated for a Grammy Award for his
work on “Sunshine” with David Guetta in 2012[9] and “Levels” in 2013.
Several music publications credit Bergling as among the DJs who ushered
electronic music into Top 40 radio in the early 2010s.
Bergling
retired from touring in 2016 due to health problems, having suffered
stress and poor mental health for several years.[12] On 20 April 2018,
Avicii was found dead in Muscat, Oman. On 1 May, it was reported that
the cause of his death was suicide from self-inflicted injuries from a
broken wine bottle. He was buried on 8 June in his hometown of
Stockholm, Sweden.
(https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicii)
The story of Kygo
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as
Kygo, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. He garnered international
attention with his December 2013 remix of the track “I See Fire” by Ed
Sheeran and his December 2014 single “Firestone” (featuring Conrad
Sewell). In late 2015, he reached 1 billion streams on Spotify faster
than any other artist, and by June 2016, he had reached 2 billion
streams.
Kygo has since released several singles, such as
“Stole the Show”, “Here for You”, and “Stay” in 2015, “It Ain’t Me”
collaborating with Selena Gomez in 2017 and a 2019 remix of “Higher
Love” performed by Whitney Houston, all of which have debuted on several
international charts. His debut album, Cloud Nine, was released on 13
May 2016.
Kygo became the first house music producer to perform
at an Olympics closing ceremony in August 2016 at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In March 2018, Billboard ranked Kygo 3rd on its 2018 ranking of dance
musicians titled Billboard Dance 100. The same year, he was ranked 32 on
DJ Mag’s top 100 DJs of the world, and in October 2019 he was ranked 42.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kygo)
The Corpus
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About the corpus
Blablabla over the corpus (hvl nummers each, average duration track.duration_ms) The corpus exists of two playlists; one of each artist. I picked all the songs that are in a album and most of the singles to create these playlists. I did not include remixes, or songs where the artist took part of, but is not featured in it.I put some interesting stats about the playlist in the following table:
Avicii
Number of songs "49"
Average duration (in seconds) "228.118081632653"
Oldest song "Levels (2011)"
Newest song "Forever yours (Avicii Tribute) (2020)"
Kygo
Number of songs "77"
Average duration (in seconds) "218.490766233766"
Oldest song "Epsilon (2013)"
Newest song "Whatever (2024)" Column
Energy
Danceability
Acousticness
Speechiness
Tempo
Valence
Over the years
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About the plots
Verschillende albums analyseren
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True (2013)
Stories (2015)
TIM (2019)
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Cloud Nine (2016)
Kids in Love (2017)
Golden Hour (2020)
Thrill Of The Chase (2022)
Cepstrograms
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About the plots
Below are two cepstrograms; one of Kygo’s ‘Higher Love’ and one of
Avicii’s ‘Hey Brother’. These songs are chosen, because of the
popularity, as the two are relatively in the middle in terms of streams.
Also, the researcher’s personal interest is another reason.
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Hey Brother - Avicii
Higher Love - Kygo, Whitney Houston
Chordograms
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Die chordogrammetjes weetjewel
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The Nights - Avicii
Raging - Kygo, Kodaline
Something with tempo
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About the plots
On the right, there are two ‘novelty-grams’. One of Avicii’s ‘You
make me’ and the other is Kygo’s ’Stargazing. I set the time to 110 sec,
because that is the part after the first drop for both songs.Here you
can see that the start of Stargazing is calm compared to You make me.
Also, the line of Stargazing is moving somewhat more, whereas the
average line of You make me would be more straight. To be honest, I
expected more differences, because the songs do differ a lot in
tempo.
Note: I wanted to make a tempogram of the songs, but I
kept getting an error, where I had to restart the kernel and I do not
know why this is the case.
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You make me - Avicii
Stargazing - Kygo
Clustering
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About the plots
The plots on the right show the clusters of the two playlists of
Avicii’s music and Kygo’s. This shows which songs are very different
from each other, where they converge high up in the tree and which are
similar, where they converge low in the tree.
Interesting findings
in Avicii’s tree is that ‘Superlove’ is very different from all the
other songs. The same goes for ‘Somewhere in Stockholm’. In addition,
you notice (if you know the songs) that songs from the same album are
not necessarily close to each other.
As for Kygo’s tree, similar
points can be seen. ‘Intro’ is very different from all the other songs.
This is to be expected because it is a very different song with also a
different purpose in the album. In addition, again, there is no
relationship between songs in the same album and close to each other.
Note: Especially with Kygo’s plot, there are just too many songs to
keep it organized. Maybe I’ll change it by album, but then some songs
won’t be included, so I have my doubts.
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Avicii (Hierarchical cluster)
Kygo (Hierarchical cluster)
